Goodrich-Village officials reported to the Genesee County Sheriff Department that vandals closed a watergate on the Goodrich Dam between 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Thursday that was opened after a beaver dam was removed upsteam in Ortonville.
The open watergate was necessary, said Village DPW Supervisor Ethan Campbell, to accommodate a rush of water from the beaver dam removal.
At about 11 a.m., Sept. 25, Ortonville Department of Public Works employees, along with the Road Commission for Oakland County, removed the bea-ver dam from Kearsley Creek culvert under M-15 near South Street in Ortonville. The Goodrich DPW was notified of the removal of the dam. The water surge heading downstream north to Goodrich nearly covered bridges over several roads including Oakwood Road, say village officials.
‘We opened the watergate on the Goodrich Dam at about noon as a safety measure,? said Campbell. ‘It takes about 12 hours for the surge of water to reach Goodrich from Ortonville. Sometime in the night someone removed the safety chain and lowered the watergate back down. This is very dangerous and could cause serious injury for those around the dam. It appears the vandals had some knowledge of the Goodrich dam’s workings.?
If anyone has any information regarding the vandalism contact the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department, 810-257-3422.